A KaguMoko School Story
by UnendingEmpire
Summary: Welcome to Tohohana High, where students of all sorts attend, learn, and all that other school stuff I don't remember so well. In this particular fic, a senior class is given a project to finish the year up, and as though fate itself wanted to make fun of the class, two bitter enemies were paired together, with the stakes raised to "Pass this or fail the year."
1. Chapter 1: The Project

**Is it just me, or do I always have a new fic up after being away for a long time? Like the last KaguMoko story I wrote, I'm really gonna push myself to finish this one, and unlike the last one, I can get away with some pretty tragic turns and not subtract from the plot, since it isn't as blatantly lulzy as the other one.**

**I have pretty much the same portrayals for our favorite morons as I did before, but that's because I have a pretty solid image of them both in my head. By far, though, the gold, silver, and bronze medals for "most worked-out personality" go to Sanae, Kogasa, and Nue respectively.**

**Which means I could work out a pretty crazy love triangle…**

**Wait…**

***starts writing***

* * *

Tohohana, Japan. A small city, barely large enough to be called such and rather out of the way from the rushed pace and cramped spaces of Japan's bigger cities. It was also a little more Westernized than others, with lots of the establishments finding their roots in places other than Japan. That in itself made Tohohana strange, but at the very least, it was diverse. Lots of different kinds of folks made this bizarre little town their home, and this story focuses on two of them, sitting in a classroom at Tohohana High School. Two seniors, sitting three seats away from each other horizontally…

"Houraisan," the teacher called out, taking attendance for the day. "Kaguya Houraisan."

"Right over here, ma'am."

"Alright…Fujiwara. Fujiwara no Mokou."

"Present, Miss K." K stood for the teacher's two initials. Her full name was Keine Kamishirisawa, but some of the duller students stumbled over saying "Miss Kamishirisawa" and "Miss Keine" didn't feel right most of the time, so the students were told to just call her Miss K. There was one student who could call her Miss Keine without her minding, though. Mokou. Even then, Mokou was kind enough to not do so in class, only using the name when seeing her teacher outside of class. Mokou sat in the furthest seat in the back-left corner; the seat nearest to both the window and the door. Close to the door because Mokou wanted to get in and out of class quickly without having to deal with idle chatter with other students, and near the window because when she was done her assignments for the day, one of Mokou's favorite things to do was watch the birds outside the window.

Sitting three seats to her right was her bitter rival since before either of them could remember. Kaguya Houraisan. Nobody was really sure how the Kaguya/Mokou rivalry started, but it stood to reason that if the two were left to their own devices, the rivalry wouldn't end until one of them killed the other. Not unlike Mokou, Kaguya was one of the sharpest minds in her grade – senior year at Tohohana High – and had close ties to a staff member. However, very much unlike Mokou…

"Miss K," Kaguya said, raising her hand. "I don't feel like doing anything today. Can we just take one for the team today and call it a free day?" Unlike Mokou, Kaguya had no interest in doing schoolwork, and took almost any measures she deemed worthwhile to avoid doing her work. Because of this, despite her sharp mind, Kaguya's grades bordered on failing.

"No breaks," Keine sternly said. "This is your last year here Kaguya, and you only have about a month and a half left, so unless you seriously mess up, you're going to have to face the big bad world once the school year ends." As soon as Keine said that, she partially regretted it. Students like Kaguya, whose families never had so much as the slightest financial concerns for generations, probably wouldn't have to face the real world as much. It stood to reason that with the kind of money her family had, Kaguya could (and knowing her, probably _would_) easily buy her way into or out of any situation. Students like Mokou, on the other hand, whose families were underprivileged – to put it subtly – were the ones who would have to face the real world with little more than their own knowledge and selves. The two were complete opposites; Keine knew that much if anything. Mokou was hard-working, selfless, tough, cunning, and fought all her battles herself. Kaguya was a lazy, selfish airhead who let others do the fighting for her, and if Keine dared to say so, she was at least a little spoiled. Keine was a pretty tight friend with Eirin, the school nurse, and both herself and Eirin often hoped Mokou and Kaguya would simmer down before one of them got seriously hurt. Hopefully, today would be that day…

"Alright, class," Keine said, looking at her class of thirty-eight students who would hopefully be graduating this year. "I've got a project for the lot of you." The teacher pulled out a small black bag from under her desk, and shook it up before setting it down on the table. "There are thirty-eight little envelopes in this bag; one for each of you. Inside each envelope is a slip of paper with a subject, and I've written each subject twice. After you pick your envelope, read aloud what subject you got. You're going to partner up with whoever has the same subject as you, and I'll explain the rest after you're all partnered up, alright? We'll go in alphabetical order, using last names. First one up, come get your slip."

* * *

**Students are now picking out little envelopes****…**

* * *

"…alright, Fujiwara, you're up next."

"Sure thing, Miss K." Mokou stepped up to the teacher's desk, and put her hand in the little bag. Keine rarely handed out projects; this Mokou knew. She also knew that the few projects Keine _did_ hand out were all major parts of a student's final grade for the year, so Mokou always made certain to give it her all. On a general basis, Keine handed out one project for each quarter in the year, so it made sense that this was the last project. The fact that only 30 school days remained on the calendar also helped that conclusion a bit. Mokou's grades thus far were outstanding, and she could probably skip the entire project if she wanted to, but that would be irresponsible of her, so she wouldn't do it. When Mokou's hand emerged from the bag, she opened up the envelope in the hand, and read the slip of paper aloud. "Japanese folklore." Despite being Japanese herself, that wasn't Mokou's strongest topic. She'd probably have to do some research. Trying to figure out exactly what she would have to do for the project, Mokou made her way back to her seat.

"Houraisan, you're up next," Keine said.

"Yes, ma'am." Kaguya stepped up to the desk. So far, nobody but Mokou had pulled the slips for Japanese folklore, and for every student who already pulled a slip, it seemed that much more likely that Kaguya would be forced to partner up with Mokou. If that happened, Kaguya would be sure to force all the work upon Mokou, and waste her time at home. She absolutely refused to work alongside Mokou, and would take all the measures she needed to prevent it. As her hand went into the bag, she pondered carefully over which envelope to pull out. After a few eternity-feeling seconds of this, her hand emerged with an envelope in hand, which she then opened. "…"

"Well? What subject is it?"

"…I don't want this one," Kaguya said as she tried to put it back in the bag.

_SMACK!_

"Ow!"

"You get what you get, Kaguya. What is the subject?"

"…Japanese folklore," Kaguya muttered. Seemingly the instant she said it, Mokou shot up to her feet and glared daggers straight at the black-haired beauty at the teacher's desk. "I don't want this one. I'll give you 2,000 yen to let me switch out."

"You're not buying your way out of this one. Go sit down so that the rest of the students can get their subjects."

"5,000!"

"It's not happening."

"100,000! 200,000!"

"She already said no," Mokou said just as Keine's mouth was opening. "Trust me, you're the last person in the world I'd want to be partnered up with, but Miss Keine said we're partners for this project, so let's just do it fast and get this over with."

"…Mokou…I'll give you 500,000 yen if you do all the work."

"Deal."

"No deal," Keine shouted. "I want to see signs of _both of you_ working on this, both on the project itself and in class, otherwise you'll both get a zero for this project. And to up the stakes a little more…this project will be worth ten times the norm for you two."

"You're out of your mind!" shouted one surprised Kaguya.

"This way, if you two fail, _both of you_ fail the year. You'll either have to suck it up and work together, or I'll see you two next school year."

"…"

"Kaguya," Mokou said. "Where do you wanna meet up?"

"You two discuss that later," Keine interrupted. "For now, get back to your seats. The rest of the students have to get their subjects, and I have to explain the project."

* * *

**More students are now picking out little envelopes****…**

* * *

"And that's the last of them," Keine happily said. "Now then, the project. From your assigned subject, you are to select three topics. For instance, if I had…say, natural disasters, as my subject, I could go with hurricanes, earthquakes, and eruptions. I want one different type of presentation for each topic; written essays, computer presentations, posters, or whatever you can smoothly present your topic with. For more fictional subjects, such as the Japanese folklore that is causing so much controversy among Houraisan and Fujiwara, you _can_ create your own short fictional work as long as it displays what the topic is all about. Now then, would you all please move your desks around so that your desk is touching your partner's? There you go. Each team has until the end of the school year to finish their project."

"This is absolutely ridiculous," Kaguya said, moving her desk toward Mokou who seemed to have no intention of moving away from the window. "Having to work with you is just…stupid!"

"Oh, little Kaguya, you don't know the half of it," Mokou retorted as her newfound partner made herself as comfy as she possibly could while sitting within range of all four of Mokou's limbs. "I'd love to do this all on my own, but we have to work together or we'll both be held back. Pass or fail, as long as the school year is still in session, you and I share the same fate."

"We're doing the work at my home," Kaguya demanded. "I don't care what kind of place you live in, but I'm sure it's not a mansion like mine. I imagine you as more the kind of kid living in a trashy trailer park, or some part of town that might have been nice once upon a time but has degraded to a nasty slum since…which is it?"

"Trailer park."

"Yeah…we're doing the work at my place," Kaguya repeated. "I'm not going down to some trashy trailer park."

"Emphasis on _trashy_," Mokou agreed. "Only reason I can cope with it is that my father's _the man_ in the park." Every trailer park – or any poor neighborhood for that matter – had one person who knew everything that was happening, and was sort of like a head of the neighborhood who had the trust and respect of everybody. If you messed with them, you messed with the entire neighborhood. In the case of Tohohana's trailer park, this man was also the father of Fujiwara no Mokou.

"The man, huh? What, is it an all-girls park or something?"

"Stupid." Before the utterance of that single word led to the newest in a countless series of fights between Kaguya and Mokou, the school bell rang. For today, school was done. It was only Monday, and Mokou would have to explain to her father why she was so late when she got home later today, not to mention that she was about to go to the mansion of her bitter enemy, but…

Could've been worse, right? This was worth passing the school year.

"Come on," Kaguya said hesitantly, practically dragging Mokou out of the classroom by her hand. "We have to get to my place and do some work. I don't like you – let me just put that there in advance like always – but I'm not about to throw away a year of freedom if it means spending another year with you here of all places." It wasn't that she wanted to pass. It was just that she didn't want to spend any more time in school than the month and a half remaining to do their work. If she passed, she would be out of school, and there was talk around the mansion that Mr. Houraisan had something _very_ special planned for when Kaguya graduated.

"Can't say I like you either. I'm only doing this to graduate, got it?"

"Likewise."

* * *

**I just love this pairing to death. And KogaSana. And KogaNue. And KaguSaku crack-pairings I'm imagining up, and also YoshiNue crack-pairings like in my Myouren fic. Only, now I'm tempted to write a KaguSaku fic since I said it out loud ^_^**

**If at all possible, I'd like to actually finish this story (I actually do that?) before writing another crack-pairing. If it isn't already online, I'd like to say that I'm doing another "school story" for a KogaSana pairing that isn't all that different from the one in my other fics starring the same pairing. Well, minus the "youkai extermination" bit, so it's really just Sanae having the same life story and Kogasa having a slightly modified one to suit a human character instead of a moe umbrella youkai.**


	2. Chapter 2: The Yakuza Family

**You'd think that for a big return, my big return would be a tad…well, BIGGER.**

**I've actually disappointed myself a little bit, that I've been gone for some two months now and have only a few things to upload. Which is bad, of course, because if I'm not satisfied with my performance, I'll have trouble thinking other people are, then since I don't really believe I'm entertaining anybody (myself included) I stop writing, then I'd be gone forever. Then out of all the folks on this site, there'd be like three who would be able to keep in contact with me without my going "who are you again?"**

**And that would be awkward for both of us, whoever you are ^_^**

* * *

"Alright," Kaguya started, standing in front of both of her parents with Mokou right next to her. "Mom, Dad, this is Fujiwara no Mokou; she's going to be my study partner for a school project. She's going to be visiting us a lot for the next month and a half, so don't mind her. A lot of the time, I'm just going to bring her right to my room to start working on the project, and I'll have Michael drive her home at about dinnertime. Okay?"

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. Houraisan," Mokou said, bowling slightly in respect before the two. Kaguya wasn't kidding around when she said that her family was rich. The butler (this Michael that Kaguya mentioned) driving the two home kind of helped tip her off. The mansion looked big enough to fit about fifty trailers the size of the one Mokou lived in, and Kaguya had said that its price ranged in the billions of yen. Kaguya said to not ask about her father's work, though it paid well enough that her mother didn't have to do anything. Judging by his general look and feel, and the amount of wealth he had, Mokou had a haunting feeling that Kaguya's father was the head of Tohohana's local yakuza or something like that. With that impression, she'd _certainly_ not ask. Mokou didn't want to be swimming with the fishes, especially when she didn't know how to swim and was deathly afraid of water thanks largely in part to that fact.

"We'll just be going now," Kaguya said, grabbing Mokou by the arm and dragging her away. "I want to show Mokou around a little; I'm sure she isn't used to this kind of wealth being around her." As Kaguya continued down the hall, once she was certain she was out of earshot from her parents, she said "My father runs the yakuza in town, so don't ask him things about his work, no matter what you do. If my project partner dies and he gets linked to it, I'd get questioned as well, and I can't be bothered with that kind of hassle. And over here," she suddenly said in a much louder voice, probably with the intention of being heard back at the entrance. "Over here we have our wonderful hot tub! I could sit in there all day long, but then I get all wrinkly like a prune, and you could imagine my skin looks bad that way."

"You can't be serious," Mokou whispered. "He _runs_ the yakuza?" It wasn't that she didn't believe it or anything; he was exactly the kind of person Mokou would expect for that kind of thing. Natural air of power and charisma, cunning and subtly cutthroat personality, et cetera. What Mokou _didn__'__t_ believe was that her first guess was dead on the mark. Worse still was that Mokou's own father was a police officer - poorly paid though he may have been - and lots of his recent assignments involved the yakuza. Was this how the rivalry started? Even if Mokou didn't want to believe it, it wasn't impossible that the rivalry between herself and Kaguya was sparked by a second conflict; that of the Tohohana police force and its local yakuza. Officer Fujiwara, whose only child aspired to be a detective, and Yakuza Boss Houraisan, whose daughter was raised with underworld values and money. Worst of all, if Mokou really did become a detective, she'd been in contact with the head of the yakuza and knew his occupation thanks to Kaguya. If that happened, Kaguya simply uttering the two words "Mokou knows" to her father could get Mokou shot and killed. As Mokou and Kaguya began ascending up a staircase, Mokou's fear became equally elevated. "W-Well, it's a lovely mansion! I only wish I could live in a place like this. Your father must be a r-really hard worker, Kaguya!"

"I don't see you having a home like this. My room's right up here," Kaguya noted as she started leading Mokou up another staircase.

"The whole third floor?"

"No, dummy. This part is walled off from the rest of the third floor, and it has my bedroom, a bathroom, one of three guest rooms, and a view of the front yard."

"Pretty classy, huh?"

"Of course. Only the finest, right?"

"For you, maybe. Some of us don't have your family's kind of support."

"That's true, I suppose. What's your father do, then, if you have no money? Is he like a janitor or something?"

"Detective. He's probably the best damn detective in Tohohana, but he isn't all that lucky. Lots of times, he gets cheated out of his money by some of the more crooked cops in the department, or has to pay a debt to somebody in the park. Even though he's getting paid well, we don't get all that much."

"Oh, I forgot to ask. How long do you plan on staying?"

"Mind if I have dinner over here? All we've got back home is canned crap nobody wants to eat."

"…"

"Can't think on an empty stomach, can I?"

"Fine. But once you're done eating, it's straight back to your trailer park."

"It's nice that we're on the same page. I don't wanna be here any longer than I have to, comprende?"

"Com-huh?"

"It's Spanish. It means _do you understand?_"

"Yeah, yeah. I'll make sure Michael's ready to send you home as soon as you're done eating. I'm sure you have some alligators to shoot or something."

"…I'm not even going to comment on how mind-numbingly stupid that sounds."

* * *

**One study session later****…**

"It's decided," Mokou said. "We'll each take one topic alone, and tackle the third together. I think I'll take the legendary phoenix." Phoenixes were Mokou's favorite animal since she was a little girl, even if she knew they were just myth and folklore. Their color and the majestic appearance Mokou always had in mind when she envisioned them, plus their knack for fire. That was another thing Mokou always enjoyed; a good fire. "How about you?"

"Phoenix."

"No, screw you! I'm taking the phoenix!"

"Then I'll take Izanami. Or…was it Izanagi? Which one's the wife, again?"

"…you'd better look it up. So, what subject are we going to tackle together? It should be something easy so we don't have to cooperate much."

"Oni," Kaguya said without skipping a beat. "They're horned drunkards who wear leopard thongs, carry spiked clubs, and like to get drunk and kill folks. And they come in red and blue. Problem solved." Kaguya looked mighty proud of herself for making such a daring assessment of oni. As far as she cared, though, that was all there was to any form of oni. They were folks who loved alcohol, power, honor, and doing things their way. Now that it was put into those terms, though, the summary sounded awfully familiar to her…bearded warriors and dragons came to mind.

"Might as well hand you the A now," Mokou sarcastically quipped.

"Do you mind? I'm busy trying to learn more about Iza-somebody."

"With the computer off?"

"Yeah."

"And the TV off as well?"

"Uh-huh."

"And…pretty much everything else off?"

"What're you getting at?"

"Look," Mokou said, reaching for the power button on Kaguya's computer. Before she could touch the machine, however, something quick and unexpected tackled Mokou from the side, throwing her straight onto the floor with a resounding _THUD! _Upon looking at the surprise attacker, the Fujiwara girl was most surprised and impressed to find Kaguya staring right down at her. Which still begged one question. "What the hell was that for?"

"Sorry. Reflex."

"You've got a reflex to tackle somebody when they try to touch your computer?"

"Yep."

"…_seriously_? How dumb do you think I am? You're using it as an excuse to tackle me to the ground, probably in the hopes of sparking a full-on fight that would get me kicked out of your house before dinner and would cause your father to send a powerful threat my way. If things would go as I think you were thinking, I would have told my own father that yours runs the yakuza because I wanted revenge for provoking me, which would lead to the untimely death of Detective Fujiwara and my becoming an orphan. At that point, you'd throw out an unexpectedly sweet-sounding offer to adopt me, which you'd probably hope I'd begrudgingly accept so that you could torment me for the rest of my days here, slowly killing me from the inside out with a combination of mental torture, emotional distress, and horrendous cooking."

"…"

"How dead-on was that?"

"I-It was…wrong! All wrong! How could you even think up something that complex by winging it like that?"

"Daughter and only child of the city's best detective, remember? That and I watch lots of cop shows."

"Deathnote?"

"Yes, actually."

"How about that L?"

"What about him?"

"Wouldn't you go for that?"

"I kind of liked Light better."

"Wh-_WHAT_? You're a _KIRA FAN_?"

"Why's that such a big surprise?" It was just a character, right? Kira, L, what was the difference? Both were staggeringly intelligent, and both were constantly trying to pry their way into the other one's head. Of course, only until-

* * *

**Beyond the fourth wall****…**

"Omitted due to spoilers," UnendingEmpire declared. "Plain and simple. I encourage the readers here to watch Deathnote, because it is an awesome wonderful anime, and L and Kira are two of the badass-est cop show characters ever. Suck on that, Law & Order. Okay, this is getting awkward now; back to the Houraisan mansion~"

* * *

**Back at the Houraisan mansion****…**

"Okay, Kira-fangirl, what's your take on Near?"

"Hate him."

"Me too! He's just a replacement L so that L fans have somebody to hate."

"I know, right?"

"…"

"…"

"So, when's dinner again?"

"You tell me; it's your house!"

* * *

**The Deathnote bit was actually something I made up on the wing of the moment, but it was a cute little spark to at least crack the ice between the two. I was also going to have a scene with Kaguya sharing her plan with her father, which was pretty much exactly what Mokou said it was. So, in a bizarre sense, Kaguya and Mokou are like lower-level girl versions of Kira and L. And they both hate Near, as do I =w=**

**And if I didn't say this yet (pretty sure I did, but better to be safe) I'm starting another fanfic similar to this one, but with the KogaSana pairing instead. And probably another still with KogaNue pairing. And then there were my two Kogasa fics, and that one that crack-paired her with Rumia…**

**Kogasa is the new Sanae.**


	3. Chapter 3: Father of a Detective's Child

**Three chapters? One, two, and three? Wow. Looks like I'm sticking with this one until the bitter end :D**

**I've actually done some research (on Wikipedia) about phoenixes - specifically it's Eastern counterpart known as Fenghuang - as well as the story behind Izanagi and Izanami, and gathered a few small facts about oni. Thus, the project they present at the end (presuming they do) should be at least partially true. Now then, about this chapter…**

**Since we met Kaguya's family in the last chapter, I found it only fitting that this chapter introduces Mokou's family, small and nutty though it may be, and even if it's just at the end of the chapter. Mokou's dad is actually a worse cook than I, which takes effort, and he managed to accomplish a feat that I'm still pretty sure is impossible. Even though he's minor, I have this feeling that he'll become the favorite of at least one person reading this, even when overshadowed completely by his daughter.**

**Her mother is mentioned a couple of times in this chapter as well, but that's a different basket entirely.**

* * *

"So, Fujiwara," Kaguya's father - a big bearded man always in a black suit - said. "Tell us a bit about yourself. It's rare our little princess brings home company."

"Please, just call me Mokou, sir," Mokou insisted. "I'm from the trailer park on the south side of town, and I guess you could say my father's kind of a guardian for the whole park." It wasn't that he solved crimes close to home. Far from it. It was mostly that he always had his eyes out for everybody's backs around that neighborhood; if he couldn't have a wealth of money, he'd at least try to have a wealth of favors. "Being there, you grow up kind of fast, and I didn't really have all that much time to just be a kid when I was little. Since dad was usually out on work and I had no mom, I was usually left to my own devices."

"I'm sorry to hear about your mother."

"I never _said_ she died…but thank you. She was a doctor, and we actually didn't live too far from here, but one day about five months after I was born, the place flooded and she drowned to let me and my father escape." That was a major contributing factor to Mokou's phobia of water. And that she couldn't swim. "So how about you Houraisan folks? It's a pretty big place here." _Kick!_

"I thought I warned you," Kaguya angrily whispered from the seat next to Mokou's. "Don't ask about his work, dummy."

"I'm a sanitation expert," Mr. Houraisan said happily. "It's my job to know when and where the streets are dirty, and do something about it."

"I had no idea a sanitation expert would get paid so well," Mokou said in awe. "It's a great mansion you have here, Mr. Houraisan!"

"Thank you. So, Mokou, what are you dreams for the future?"

"I'd like to follow in my father's footsteps. He's a sanitation expert, not unlike yourself. He finds dirt on the streets and gets rid of it." It was a pretty nice cover to avoid saying she wanted to be a detective. Even if Mr. Houraisan had the "sanitation expert" cover ready, Mokou wasn't ready to say she wanted to be a detective. "So how about Kaguya?"

"You sit next to me in class," Kaguya retorted. "You should already know plenty."

"Let's see…works hard," Mokou said in a way that practically radiated "yeah, right" over to Kaguya. "Always ready for a few assignments, never late…yep, you're just the model student. So now let's hear about outside of or after school. What do you want to be?"

"Well, if you must know, my dream is to marry an extremely wealthy man and never have to work a single day in my life."

"Good plan." _So pretty much exactly what you do now, only with a ring on your finger? What a NEET._ Some people never changed, it seemed. "You won't make a name for yourself by just marrying some rich guy. I figured somebody like you would want the world to see her name in bright flashing lights."

"That's not very nice, to assume stuff about people. Are you done eating yet?"

"Yeah, just about. I've got a small appetite, so I'll get out of your hair now," Mokou said, getting up to her feet. "Thanks for the food, and…Kaguya, I'll see you tomorrow. You'd better start studying."

"I'll have Michael meet you up at the car."

* * *

**Along the ride back to Mokou****'****s place****…**

"So, tell me something," Mokou said.

"What is it, Miss Fujiwara?"

"Please, Miss Fujiwara was my mother. Call me Mokou. I just wanted to know, what's Kaguya's story?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"Her past. I'm sure the staff thinks it too at that mansion, but she's pretty selfish and a bit of a bitch." Maybe that was just Mokou's slightly biased way of looking at it, but whether or not it was happened to be irrelevant. What mattered was her partner's life story.

"The child of my boss is an enviable position. Never has Kaguya not gotten something she wants, and likewise, not once has she gotten something she didn't want. She's highly accustomed to buying her way out of situations and using her own personal cunning to gain what she can't through money."

"Kaguya has cunning? I'd like to see that."

"If in the appropriate situations, her cunning goes without compare."

"Right situations, huh?" Mokou could only wonder what those situations would be. Trying to watch two different anime at once, perhaps? Or, knowing Kaguya, trying to watch two different anime in her sleep. "Is she actually any good for practical things, like a school project?"

"If given the right stimulus, Kaguya can do nigh-anything. Keep that in mind, Mokou. It may come in handy when working on this big project of yours."

_The right stimulus?_ "Thanks for the advice."

"Of course."

"Oh, make this left here. Then it's the third trailer on the right; the red one." The stars were especially bright tonight. Just as she stepped out of the car to go home, Mokou could look straight up and see the seven stars in Hokuto Shichisei (Big Dipper) shining brightly in the sky. It was rare that Mokou had the chance to see those stars in particular, but she always kept an eye open for them. They were certainly beautiful, but of course, there was one thing that stuck in Mokou's mind since childhood, thanks largely in part to having to watch old anime with her old man. "Where the mark of Hokuto is…"

* * *

"…chaos follows," Kaguya mused from her room. _Click._ The remote for her television was always comfortably seated at her computer desk, as well as that being the spot where Kaguya herself was usually sitting. "And that wraps it up. A Hokuto no Ken marathon starting at the end, then working my way back to the start." She'd been working on that since the day before yesterday. She probably could have finished yesterday, had it not been for school getting in the way, but it did, so the marathon finished today. It was about the right hour that, if Kaguya were to open the blackout curtains over her windows, she'd be able to see the moon. During those hours, she always opened her curtains. And when she did, her eyes widened at the first thing her eyes locked on. Not the full moon, but not all too far from it (given that it's the sky and all) rested seven twinkling stars. Hokuto Shichisei; the seven stars that foretell death and chaos.

"…well, that sucks." It meant Kaguya would probably be involved, which was just about the last thing she wanted.

* * *

_GRRRRNNNNNNNNN__…_ "Somebody's gotta fix that door," Mokou muttered. "Hey," she called out so as to be heard across the little trailer. "I'm-"

"**KYAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!**"

"Not today, old man," Mokou casually said, raising her right foot at just the right moment to make it clash with the face of her detective father. This was a commonplace occurrence at the Fujiwara home. Mokou walks in, says she's home, and her father almost always ambushes her from some point, though rarely at the door. It was her father's odd way of honing Mokou's reflexes in case she went into law enforcement and had to handle a gun. He'd been shot once before, and didn't want his kid to go through that kind of ordeal.

"So how was school?" Of course, Mr. Fujiwara didn't ask that until _after_ Mokou's foot and his face ceased to be connected. "You're home pretty late. I had to cook my own dinner, and…"

"I know." Mokou's eyes drifted over in the direction of the kitchen. As expected when he had to cook a meal himself, it was pretty much all black with soot and ash. "At least nothing got destroyed this time…well, except whatever you were cooking. What _were_ you cooking, anyway?"

"Ramen noodles."

"…seriously? Over-boiling them, from a cooking klutz like you I get, but not even you have the lack of ability to _set them on fire_. Did you fall asleep or something?"

"…so how was school?"

"Alright, I guess. Same old, same old, until I had to start a school project."

"Interesting." Grabbing his handy tools for cleaning up soot and ash, Mr. Fujiwara eagerly said "Please continue." Looking back on his ramen blunder, he could have just as easily gone to a convenience store and bought some, and have them cook it for him there. He was a great detective, and always noticed the smallest details, but outside of his work, few people were able to avoid being surprised with the revelation that he was really a detective.

"It's about Japanese mythology, and I have a partner. It's that Houraisan girl."

"Houraisan? You mean, the same Houraisan that we think is in with the yakuza?"

"His kid. And…" Did Mokou dare call Mr. Houraisan out on his yakuza connections; his yakuza _command_? If she did, he could probably be put behind bars, but if there was a leak in the department, it wouldn't take long to find out it was Fujiwara no Mokou that let the information slip. It would mean the end of her, probably literally. Out of fear of exactly that happening, she finished her statement with "And he's a pretty neat guy; doesn't seem like he'd be in the yakuza."

"Well, that's usually how it is with crime bosses."

"Yeah, I know. So did you eat or was the burning ramen scare too much?" Mokou still had trouble believing that he could actually _burn_ ramen. She'd heard of very inexperienced ditzes over-boiling them at which point they got all soggy, but even that was rare. Never did she hear of a person actually over-cooking them enough that they'd burst into flame. Not to mention they were in water…only Mr. Fujiwara, Mokou figured.

"After I burned the ramen, I decided to wait until you got home."

"Well, I'm here now. I'll fix you up something quick, probably a grilled-cheese sandwich or two." Probably two. Nobody knew just where Mokou got the cooking ability she had, but many have said in the past that instead of being a detective, Mokou should have aspired to be a gourmet chef. She certainly had the skill, and it was probably a better-paying job than a detective. Regardless, Mokou's wish was to be a detective, nothing more.

* * *

**I like to think that creating a backstory is a particular talent of mine, and Mokou's is no exception. Even without completely fleshing it out, I've managed to make a Mokou that fits so well with Touhou's canon and fanon alike, despite not being immortal or having fire powers. But really, for people who've read my other KaguMoko fic, you might have noticed by now that it's really the exact same personalities as in the last fic, but the vastly different setting has made their interactions a tad different. We can't have a shouting fight in class, lest we get CAVED!**

**Now, I do have a very unique plan for these very mortal versions of Kaguya and Mokou, and bits of pieces of it may have reflected in Kaguya's plan from the last chapter (you'll have to find out yourself) so by the end, this should get interesting.**

**Also, I have one last thing to say, about names. I could've been exceptionally clever with the names of Fujiwara no Mokou and Kaguya Houraisan, especially with them being at the lower and higher classes of society respectively, and swapped a critical part of their names. If I'd thought of it in the first chapter, Keine would have called off the names "Mokou Fujiwara" and "Houraisan no Kaguya" instead of what I had, but now that it's out in the open, Houraisan no Kaguya sounds weird.**

**Oh well. That's life ;)**


	4. Chapter 4: Talk to Me

**Four chapters in, and all's well in Tohohana.**

**This chapter actually lends a fair bit of development to Keine, and I believe somebody made a certain prediction about my third-favorite old lady in Touhou being the school nurse? Well, guess what, you were dead on the mark, but we won't be seeing the school nurse in this chapter :3**

**Now let's see if you can guess who the three school counselors are. Good luck, and here's a hint: None of them have the last name Komeiji.**

* * *

"Wednesday morning," Mokou said to herself. "The midpoint of the week." That made it okay and all, but she was still going to have to do research alongside Kaguya of all people. That bugged her. Here was Mokou, the daughter and only child of Tohohana's foremost detective, and she was partnered up with the daughter of the local yakuza boss, Kaguya Houraisan. And to make matters worse, when Mokou opened her bedroom window, she was met with the fact that it was raining outside. She hated the rain, very much so.

"You know class hasn't started yet, right?" At the least, though, Keine was impressed. Kaguya was not only here on time, but a good ten minutes _early_ for a change! Clearly, Mokou was doing something right yesterday to make Kaguya get here early; the Houraisan girl usually got out of bed after class started. "It's nice that-"

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!_ That would be her phone at the teacher's desk. Picking it up, she said "This is Kamishirisawa. What is it?"

"…"

"Uh-huh."

"…"

"What? Again? And it's raining today, too…alright, I'll be right down. Whoever it was, send them down to Nurse Yagokoro and make sure their face isn't _too_ muddy." Generally, there was no need to worry about muddy faces when Keine got the sort of call she just had, but since it was raining today, there would no doubt be at least a spot of it.

"I hope you don't mind if I ask about that," Kaguya said.

"Well, it turns out that your study partner broke another student's jaw. There's also a dent in her locker about the size of her foot, and one of the doors in the area almost got kicked off its hinges."

"Mokou's in trouble? Ha! I have to be around to hear this!"

* * *

**Principal****'****s office****…**

"You know how we feel about this kind of thing," the principal sternly said. "You and that Houjuu kid ought to team up sometime. Save me the trouble of calling you in separately."

"Perhaps you'd like to explain to me why the other kid isn't here as well," Mokou retorted. Generally speaking, she wasn't the kind of student to get in trouble; kept well enough to herself and had no reason to be around other students, be it friendly interaction or hostile. Most if not all of the time, she got in trouble for one of three things. Knocking a student unconscious and/or breaking at least one of their body parts, damaging school property, or smoking on school grounds. Today was a combination of the three. Mokou had arrived, went up to the roof and lit a cigarette when another student came up and tried to steal the rest of the pack right out of her pocket. Mokou kicked that student square in the face, and a fight broke out that spanned three different floors and quite a few property-damaging kicks thrown around by Mokou. "He started it."

"He wasn't smoking on school grounds. He didn't cause thousands of yen in property damage. And last I checked, your jaw is still unbroken."

"Hey, I already said that the jaw wasn't my fault! He fell down the stairs at an awkward angle and landed square on his jaw! Explain why that's my fault!"

"Because you kicked him down the stairs."

"I swear," Mokou said, reaching into the pocket of a bright yellow raincoat. This was her standard attire on any day where it rained; a bright yellow raincoat and rubber boots and rain pants of the same color. It wasn't that she hated getting rained on so much as her strong hydrophobia, but the hate of being rained on was also a nice factor. Because of the rubber boots, and because she only used her feet in a fight, people she fought on rainy days tended to get their faces at least a little muddy. When Mokou's hand emerged from her raincoat's pocket, it held two things. A little green box and a red and white lighter.

"Confiscated," the principal quickly said the second he saw the lighter, grabbing it straight from Mokou's hand. "You know that lighters aren't allowed on school grounds; we've been over this several times."

"Not like it's mine anyway," she bitterly said, getting up to her feet.

"Sit back down, young lady, or I'll have you in for a week's detention!"

"You'll do no such thing," a third voice strictly added. None other than Keine Kamishirisawa. "I'll take it from here, sir."

"This is my-"

"_I__'__ll handle it_."

"She's all yours."

"Mokou, head over to the classroom; I'll meet you there in a minute. Take Kaguya with you; she looks way too happy to see you in trouble." Once the two students left the office, Keine closed the door behind them and sat down in the same chair Mokou was in just recently. "And I'll be taking that lighter you confiscated."

"It's for her own good," the principal protested. "Even if she's legally old enough to smoke, it can only lead to a tragic end. Her mother smoked as well, right?"

"Don't go there." Now Keine's voice was sterner and stricter than ever. Keine and the late Doctor Fujiwara were friends since childhood, and Keine was like an aunt to Mokou herself. Keine hated when people said anything bad about the girl's late mother. "Her father was a failing writer and her child was already misunderstood enough in the world. You don't seem to get that her breaking these rules and bones aren't any form of rebellion or delinquency; it's like some sort of cry for help."

"Miss Kamishirisawa, that sounds ridiculous."

"Give me the lighter," Keine said once again, holding her hand out as way of saying that she refused to take no for an answer.

"She isn't allowed to-"

"_Now!_"

"I _should_ fire you right now," the principal said, reaching into his desk and pulling out the red-white lighter. It was white at the top with red tribal flames along the bottom, reaching up near the metallic end of the lighter in length. "The only reason I don't is because you're the best teacher we have here. Keep that in mind next time you want to support a student doing something stupid."

"Mokou's not doing anything stupid. Like I said, it's a cry for help."

* * *

"Wow, that's a nasty dent!" Kaguya still couldn't believe Mokou did that with just her feet. Pretty much the entire locker was bent in, and there was no way it would open or close without being replaced. Luckily, it happened to be Mokou's locker, and she purposely kept nothing important inside specifically because she knew that she'd end up doing that a few times a year. Luckily, it also happened to be right next to Keine's classroom.

"So what? I kicked a locker and it bent in. Big deal."

"You don't get it! That's like a Hokuto-level kick!"

"Hardly. Besides, it's more of a Nanto technique if I say so myself; Hokuto used the hands more than anything and I fight with only my feet." Mokou had trained herself over the years to fight without using anything above her waist so as to keep her hands safe. They were the most important thing she had; she needed them to make meals for herself and her father, as well as to do schoolwork and light cigarettes. _FLOP!_ They were also used for more personal reasons. The sound that echoed across the hall was that of a large sketchpad hitting the floor and flipping itself open, to about halfway in. On the paper was a sketch of a great majestic bird leaving in its path a trail of fire, soaring above the sun and the earth.

"Hey, that's neat."

"Don't touch it," Mokou quickly said, snatching up the book as fast as she could and closing it tightly. "It's personal stuff."

"I didn't know you were an artist."

"What of it?"

"It might help that project of ours. I've got a drawpad for my computer, but I'm not that great of an artist. Maybe you could sketch out some things for the project, and with my computer whiz-ness, we could turn it into something pretty cool."

"…"

"All for the sake of not being stuck together another year, of course."

"Of course," Mokou agreed. "So, how's your research on Izanami going?"

"Not bad. I learned that she and her hubby must have had a lot of downtime, since they kept banging each other and birthing a few dozen deities. Not to mention they created the world, and they had probably the craziest breakup in the history of breakups."

"Please share."

"The gist of it is that Izanami…well, spoilers, then later on threatened to kill a thousand people every day if she wasn't set free. Izanagi just sort of said he'd create 1,500 in response, and that's where I can't find anything further. They were a pretty wild couple."

"I'll bet…"

"This is so sweet," Keine happily said as she turned the corner. "Mokou and Kaguya, talking to each other like civilized people~"

"Sh-Shut up, Miss K!"

"Yeah," Mokou added. "We're only doing this to graduate, got it?"

"Easy there. Kaguya, you head on in; I'll be there soon. Mokou, I have to talk to you out here alone for a minute or two." Only when Kaguya stepped into the room did Keine close the door. And it was only when she was certain that nobody else was around did she go into her pocket and procure a red and white lighter. "I got your lighter back. Is this a new one?"

"It's not mine. It's dad's."

"I see. Tell him hi from me, okay?"

"Sure. Now, what did you have to talk to me about, exactly?"

"Well," Keine started, not quite certain _how_ to start. She didn't like having these conversations with Mokou because, as she'd well established in the principal's office, she was pretty much always on Mokou's side in these things, and these talks made it seem otherwise, if only for a short moment. "We both know that your behavior toward other students…well, it gets you in trouble when you fight them."

"Not one of these talks again…"

"Please, bear with me. Now, we have school counselors; you've met the lot of them by now, I'd imagine. But they weren't there with you since you were just a little baby, not even able to crawl yet. I know that you feel like you don't fit in, or that you're misunderstood, or that nobody seems to really get you, not even your father. But I just want to say this, Mokou. _I_ understand you. You're just like your mother was when she was young, so if you _ever_ have to talk to anybody about anything, anything in the world…I'm always available for you, okay?"

"…I understand. Thanks, ma'am."

"Please, that _ma__'__am_ stuff is for strangers. What happened to when you were little and you used to call me Aunt Keine?"

"Oh, u-um…I didn't mean to offend you any…" Why did Keine have to go and say that to her? Now Mokou was blushing, dammit. "I'll be sure to call you if I have to talk to somebody."

"Great. Now, let's head into class, shall we?"

* * *

**I'd say it's sort of filler, but the dialogue between Kaguya and Mokou in the later parts of this chapter proves otherwise. And Keine's 24/7 talk-to-me offer is going to be very important sooner in this fanfic than I'm planning, most likely. There's an important event I have ready that would be best if held off for another three or four chapters, but it will probably happen within the next two instead :\**

**Which is okay, as long as I can keep the plot flowing and the fanfic interesting to myself. If I can just do those two things, this fanfic will without a doubt meet its end when I change the status from "In-progress" to "Complete" someday. Wouldn't that be great, you guys?**


	5. Chapter 5: The Board Game Champion

**In truth, this chapter was supposed to go online on Wednesday, as well as the one immediately following this one, but I forgot to prepare this chapter on Tuesday night, and wasn't at the library until today! It's silly, I know, but to be fair, I was very tired at the time that chapter had finished, even though I wasn't as tired when chapter 6 was finished…**

**Only now it sounds like I'm just making shit up :\**

**Whatever. On with the story!**

* * *

"Okay," Keine said, addressing the entire class before her. School was now officially in session. "To be honest, we actually finished our annual curriculum the other day; congratulations on that, all. So, from here on in, I expect all your time here to be about the projects you've been assigned lately. So, how is each individual project coming along? We'll start with…Houraisan, Fujiwara, I'd like a progress report."

"We picked out our subjects," Mokou said. "Kaguya's going to cover Izanami, I'll deal with phoenixes, and together, we're going to work on the topic of oni."

"I've done some research on Izanami," Kaguya added. "If you ask me, she seems like kind of a bitch."

"I can't say I respect that kind of talk about deities, but it's good that you're doing research. Alright, now then…"

* * *

**End of the school day; en route to the front door****…**

_RIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIIING!_ "It's my cell," Kaguya said, sliding the touch-screen slider-thingy to answer the call. "Hello? Oh, hi! Uh-huh. Yeah. Okay. Sure, I'll tell her. W-Wait, what? N-No! Nuh-uh, no way! I'm not doing it! B-But…okay…love you, too. Bye-bye."

"That was an interesting conversation," Mokou commented.

"Shut up."

"What's up your ass all of a sudden?"

"That was my father," Kaguya answered. "He's got a very important _business_ meeting at the house today, so I have to keep myself out of the house until about dinnertime."

"Then what was that whole fit just now about?"

"He wants me to keep on studying with my partner…"

"I see…ha-ha." Mokou thought it was pretty funny, at least. She'd never make it as a detective if she didn't know how to put two and two together, and she understood what the situation was. Kaguya would have to go home with Mokou, rather than the other way around like it was yesterday. "I'll call my old man and let him know. He's a great detective, and his heart's in the right place, but he's pretty…odd." At least, _odd_ was the polite way of putting it. To put it bluntly, the guy was rather nuts. And a bad cook.

"You do that, banana girl."

"Banana? What?"

"Your raincoat," Kaguya commented. "And the boots. It's all yellow, like a banana."

"…okay, then." Trying not to make a comment on how stupid Kaguya just sounded (even if she was kind of right) or on why she was dressed in such a way when it wasn't even raining all that hard, Mokou flipped her phone open and dialed in the number for her father's cell.

"Flip phones still exist?"

"Yep." _Riiiiiiiiing__…__riiiiiiiiiiiing__…__riiiiiiii__…_ "Hey. Yeah, I'm on my way now. Okay. I'm bringing some company over, okay? Yes, it's her, why? No. Look, no! Alright. Thank you. Try to be at least a _little _normal when you get home, okay? Cool, see you in an hour. Love you too." _Click. _"He's cool with it. I hope you don't mind walking over to my place, since dad's working on a case right now. We'll be on our own for a while, but he's not all that great at housework, so it won't really make much difference."

* * *

**Twenty minutes later; Fujiwara trailer****…**

"Welcome to Casa del Fujiwara," Mokou said happily, taking the rubber boots off her feet. As she started undoing the buttons on her raincoat, she continued "Make yourself comfy, okay?"

"Awfully nice way to treat your enemy," Kaguya replied, leaving her shoes at the same spot as Mokou's boots.

"It's Fujiwara hospitality." Mokou hung the raincoat up on a rack, and realized something. Kaguya was rather soaked. She didn't have an umbrella, and even though it wasn't raining all that hard, spending twenty minutes in the rain still got her pretty soaked. "Want a towel?"

"I don't suppose you have a hair drier? My uniform is all wet, too."

"Hmm…what to do about that, what indeed…" Looking at Kaguya, then herself, then back and forth a couple more times, Mokou drew up an idea. "I have an idea about the uniform. I'll hang it in the bathroom to dry, but we can't have you walking around naked. I don't like doing this - especially for you - but you can borrow a change of my clothes until yours are dry again."

"How long will that take?"

"Oh, should be done at about the time you leave. Either that, or wear a wet school uniform all day."

"…I bet your closet looks like crap," Kaguya bitterly said with a moment of hesitation. "At least nobody's going to see me wearing your rags…"

"I could always just throw you back into the rain, you know."

* * *

**Five minutes later; door to Mokou****'****s room****…**

_BANG, BANG!_ "Hurry up in there," Mokou shouted. "It's just a temporary change of clothes, nothing that should take five minutes!"

"But your clothes look like crap!"

"Are you wearing them?"

"Uh-huh."

"…" _SLAM!_ "Thanks for forgetting to say that!" When Mokou stormed into her own room, the first thing she saw was Kaguya, wearing Mokou's clothes. A white shirt with red checkers and long sleeves, and a pair of jeans torn at the knees. "You know, that's actually not a bad ensemble. I wouldn't mind trying that out myself this weekend, actually."

"Oh, really? Glad you think so~"

"…"

"…"

"So," Mokou promptly said to break the silence. "You may have noticed, but we're a bit lacking in computers here."

"Yeah…I noticed…"

"Not to mention we have no way of reasonably doing our research."

"Is that so? Then what, pray tell, do you propose we do here, Mokou?"

"I dunno…ever play Scrabble?"

"…this is dumb," Kaguya said. She wasn't going to protest, though. As it stood, this was probably the fastest way to pass time, even if Kaguya didn't want to play Scrabble against Mokou of all the people in the world. But now that she realized she was _against_ Mokou… "Bring it on, birdbrain!"

* * *

**One Scrabble game later****…**

"And…that's the game," Mokou said, putting the final nail in the coffin; the final letter on the board. "That was actually pretty good competition." The only other person who was able to make Mokou play Scrabble that hard was her father, who, as it may have been mentioned before, was Tohohana's greatest detective.

"I lost…"

"Sorry, Kaguya, but I don't lose at board games."

"Have you got Monopoly? I'll kick your ass at Monopoly."

"I figured you'd say that. Let's play."

* * *

**Several board games later****…**

"…tie game," Mokou said, looking rather upset. Both Mokou and Kaguya had won several board games, but lost exactly as many. It was now a tie game, and Mokou was all out of games. "Good job; you're the first person to beat me at a board game." It was a feat that was literally being applauded by Mokou; every word she'd just spoken was the truth. "Now, was that so emotionally scarring?"

"…no," Kaguya muttered.

"Say again? I didn't quite hear you."

"No it wasn't! There, it wasn't scarring, okay?"

"I've done some research," Mokou said. "Being a detective's daughter has some perks, like access to police records. As it turns out, your dad's yakuza specializes in killings that look like accidents."

"Knew that part."

"Like, say, if a house down the street were to flood…" One with a particular detective living inside. "How many detectives live in your neighborhood, Kaguya?"

"When I was a little tiny baby, there was one. But…wait…_no way!_"

"Yep. The detective living down the street from your father, as it turns out, was Tohohana's greatest detective. Fujiwara no Akira. I can only reason that your dad didn't want my dad living that close, so flooded the house in an attempt to kill him. Except, one thing went wrong with the plan."

"What part was that, exactly?"

"Are you dumb? _He killed the wrong parent!_ Instead of killing Detective Fujiwara like he'd meant to, _Doctor_ Fujiwara no Aki sacrificed herself to save her husband and three-month-old daughter: me. Now, it's common knowledge that your dad runs the yakuza - he's only avoiding jail time because nobody can incriminate the guy - and no doubt my father puzzled out that he called the hit on my old house. My father would hate your father for costing him a wife and a nice house, and yours would hate mine because if anybody can incriminate Mr. Houraisan, he knows it's my father."

"So what you're trying to say is," Kaguya said, pushing all her brainpower to the surface, "I only hate you because _my father_ hates _your father_."

"Yes. Now, I have a proposition that can end that."

"Let's hear it."

"If you give the Fujiwara family enough money to get out of here and beyond the yakuza's reach - maybe to Hokkaido - I'll make sure to cover for you guys while you call in the favor."

"It sounds good, but…why the hell would you want to do this?"

"Your father's yakuza is one of Tohohana's most dangerous crime forces. I'd hate to lose both of my parents to the same yakuza." If that happened, Mokou wouldn't know what to do with herself. Would she want to present the evidence to the department? What evidence? That was the reason Mr. Houraisan still avoided bars: nobody had evidence against him. Were it not for that alone, he'd be in jail for life. "What do you say?"

"Hmm…I'll see what I can do, but I can't promise you anything. Remember, I grew up being taught to hate your guts, so I still don't trust you completely."

"Likewise."

* * *

**I've got nothing to say, mostly because I'm still upset with myself for not uploading this on Wednesday like I meant to, all because of my own forgetfulness.**


	6. Chapter 6: From (Under) the Ashes

**There are actually two climaxes in this fanfic. The first one we'll see is a personal climax for Mokou. The second is the actual climax - the day of the school project being presented, I think.**

**We're extremely close to the former, and I'm probably going to make it happen in the very next chapter. Therefore, it's very important to establish Mokou's character some more, which was one of my big focuses in this chapter. I also wanted to lend Keine some development, since my gut says that she'll become a very important character pretty soon, though we still haven't heard from Eirin…**

**Perhaps later?**

* * *

"It's good that we've come to an agreement," Mokou said over the stove. It was about time for dinner, and she wasn't about to trust Kaguya's cooking ability - presuming she had any at all - so it was up to Mokou to prepare dinner for three tonight. "Just try to do it quickly, okay?"

"I still won't promise anything. My father has run the yakuza since before we were born, so he's pretty smart. I'll have to carefully consider how I word the request to keep him from catching on. But there's one thing that bugs me…"

"Yeah?"

"What about Miss K?" Mokou should have probably thought of it first, but it was no secret in town that Keine was one of the few people able to soothe and calm Mokou, and that the two were as tight as family. If the Fujiwara family moved away and left Keine, the yakuza just had to kidnap the good teacher and inform the escapees that they'd done just that. No doubt, Mokou would come down with a fury worse than any mere volcano, and would probably walk straight into a trap in blind rage. Kaguya didn't know her study partner's father, so there was no saying what he'd do, but Kaguya couldn't imagine a happy ending if the teacher got left behind.

"You're right…I guess we'll have to wait until your old man's behind bars." _RIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIIIIING!_ Mokou's cell. Flipping it open and continuing to cook with just one hand, Mokou answered "What's up? Oh, hey! Yeah, I noticed you're late…you found _what_ at the scene? DNA samples on a lighter? Oh…wow! I think you might have finally nailed the evidence to put him in! Absolutely; I'll cook your absolute favorite! Love you, too. Bye."

"Your father?"

"He just found evidence," Mokou ecstatically said. "There was another fire just recently, and he found DNA samples on a lighter; samples that probably belong to one Osamu Houraisan - your father!"

"!"

"…oh, jeez. I didn't mean to sound so happy about it like that, sorry. It's just that my old man's been working on this case for at least eighteen years - probably more - and may finally be able to call it closed. Don't worry; your dad's a yakuza boss. They're supposed to be pretty good at escaping these situations."

"I've gotta pee," Kaguya said, speeding off to the bathroom.

* * *

**Meanwhile, at the Houraisan mansion****…**

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!_ "Osamu Houraisan," the old man answered, flipping his phone open. "…hm? Fujiwara no Akira, you say? Very well. Thank you for the information." _Click._ Important information had just been sent his way. Somebody had found evidence that would probably put the grand yakuza boss behind bars. The informant was even kind enough to tell him exactly who found the evidence. Fujiwara no Akira. He was so proud of his informant.

So proud of his little girl…

* * *

**The following morning; Tohohana High, Class 12-A****…**

"I have an important announcement," Keine said. "I'm planning on moving away by the end of the school year."

"Don't go," Mokou said. That was something of an act on her part; it was Mokou who gave Keine the idea in the first place. Kaguya was doing her thing, trying to call in the money to get Mokou, her father, _and_ Keine out of Tohohana and as far away as Hokkaido; pretty much across all of Japan. "Who else is going to keep Kaguya in line?"

"Quiet, birdbrain!"

"Play nice," Keine interrupted. "It's not certain, but I may be leaving you. Ideally, I'd like to leave here just after graduation, but you know how things go. Sometimes, you just can't control when what happens…Fujiwara, put that cigarette down!"

"…yes, ma'am." It wasn't a secret that Mokou smoked. She just didn't have the time to light up any cigarettes in the last couple of days. She'd been very busy, after all. She'd probably smoke a couple on the way home today. "Hey, Miss K, can I ask you something?"

"Anything."

"…privately?"

"Come on out to the hallway." Keine stepped away from her desk, and joined Mokou as the white-haired girl left the room. It was rare that Mokou actually came to Keine with questions, so whatever this was, it had to be important. Something she probably wouldn't trust her father with. He was kind of odd like that, and not too reliable for a straight answer, so in some situations, Keine was a far better person to ask questions to. "Now then, what's bugging you?"

"I've got this friend, okay? And his cousin works at the police department. Rumors around the department are that his cousin found evidence about the yakuza boss, and-"

"Don't beat around the bush. Akira called me last night happy as can be about that evidence. What's wrong, Mokou?"

"It's great that he found evidence and all, but…I'm scared. He told me that his partner found out there's a leak in the police department, so what if the leak answers to _him_?" The way Mokou saw it, that leak could work for Kaguya's father, the Scarlet mafia, or an even bigger ring of some of the meanest sons of bitches to ever walk the grounds of Tohohana. That meant it was only a one-in-three chance that Mr. Houraisan would know, but this was _the Houraisan yakuza_. What if he had leaks in other crime organizations? The information would get sent his way for sure, and then what? There would be a dead detective, who just so happened to be the same one on his tail since before Mokou was born. "You get what I mean?"

"Listen, you're stressed. You've been working with your lifetime enemy on a school project, with the stakes so high that you'll both be here again next year if either of you fail the project. You're just like your mom. You know that? You've got a really brave heart, but sometimes you worry, and when you do, you become scared and stressed. Do you want some advice?"

"Sure."

"Aki once told me when we were in high school that if she ever had a daughter, she hoped that child would be just like her, so that she knew that no matter what, her little girl would pull through. Don't be afraid, and just have faith in yourself, okay?" The greatest people in history threw away their fear of taking risks, and made the greatest triumphs. Keine would know better than anybody; she knew just about anything there was to know about history, be it Japanese or otherwise. Mokou was just like her mother, so if she just kept herself together and did as her mother did, Mokou would be just fine. Keine was certain of it. "Do you want to come see me after school?"

"Yes, please."

"Alright. I'll call Akira during lunch and tell him in advance. I'm sure he'd like to hear that you're visiting me again. Come on, let's get back to class."

"Sure. Thanks." When the two stepped back into the room, a particular grin worked its way across Mokou's face at the first thing she saw. Kaguya Houraisan fell asleep on her desk. She knew how Keine preferred to wake up her students, and she was called the "head" teacher of Grade 12 for a reason. Doing her best to not blink or laugh loud enough to wake Kaguya up before Keine could, Mokou watched with increasing amusement as the teacher moved closer and closer to Kaguya's desk…

_CAVED!_

"**I****'****M AWAKE!**"

* * *

**After school; residence of Keine Kamishirisawa****…**

"I forgot how nice this house was," Mokou said. Soft blue carpets throughout, and matching wallpaper made up the majority of the interior. Lots of the furniture was either blue, white, or black, and it didn't look like the kind of place one could afford on a teacher's salary. "It's nice to be here again, Miss Kei-"

"_No._"

"Huh?"

"Outside the school, I'm not _Miss Keine_. I'm just Keine; your mom's lifetime friend and your own. Weren't we just talking yesterday about how I miss you calling me Aunt Keine, like when you were little?"

"U-Um…sorry." There was one part of the house - about five square feet - that wasn't carpet flooring, but white tiles. Had it been carpet there, it would probably be a fire hazard. The reason was simple. Those white tiles surrounded a fireplace. When Mokou was little, she would just sit and stare into the fireplace all day, looking at and tending to the fire. It was especially fun for her in the winter months, Mokou recalled. Now that she thought about it, her happiest childhood memories were at this house. This was where she lost her first tooth; she'd lost it in Keine's famous meatloaf when Mokou - not a very skilled cook back then - helped and accidentally burned hers. Even then, it tasted great. She was given her first haircut here by Keine herself, and her first sleepover was here. It was also where Mokou learned a majority of her cooking secrets. Being in this house always brought back the happy memories of being little and not having a care in the world. If only things could still be that way…

"Hey, Mokou."

"Huh? Sorry, I was spacing out."

"It's fine. I was just asking if you wanted some tea. It's the special blend we made when you were a child."

"S-Sure!" _Should I ask about the fireplace? I__'__m not really a little kid anymore, so__…__it sounds kind of childish to ask about that kind of thing anyway._ When Keine stepped into the kitchen, Mokou made herself comfortable on a blue couch about ten feet away from the fireplace. It faced away from the fireplace so that it could instead face the TV, but that didn't stop Mokou when she was young.

"Feel free to light the fireplace, by the way," Keine's voice called out from the kitchen. "I haven't lit it all that much these days, and I'm sure lighting it now and then is good to make sure it keeps running if I need it during the winter months."

"Oh, I'm fine." _Dammit. Missed my chance._ In a nostalgic way, being in this house was soothing in itself for Mokou, but it stressed her out a little at the same time. All the wonders of this house from when she was young were surely not appropriate to ask about now that she was older. "…" Mokou got up to her feet, and grabbed some of the wood next to the fireplace. On the other side were firelighters, and once the wood was in, Mokou tossed that in as well. _Click_. That would be a lighter, and after a few moments of waiting, there was a warm fire right in front of Mokou's eyes. This took her back, and the smile on her face - a rare sight these days - was solid proof of that.

"I knew you'd light it~" Stepping back into the living room was Keine, carrying a tray with a teapot and two cups. She'd said the tea was the special blend she and Mokou invented together when the latter was young, though Keine imagined that by now, Mokou forgot what was in that blend. That was okay. In truth, Keine also forgot how to make it, but knew which tea mixtures to blend to perfectly replicate the taste. "And you're even _smiling_! Mind if I sit with you?"

"Help yourself." When her teacher and friend made herself comfy next to Mokou, the latter grabbed a cup of tea and took down her first sip. Just like childhood. In that one sip, as though her childhood years pierced through and conquered her conscious mind, her fear melted away about the yakuza, and in the warmth of the fire, she was happier than she could remember being in a very long time. Even without a mother, her childhood years certainly had a mother figure in Keine, and the two lived on the same block until it got around the time where Mokou started middle school. That was when she and her father moved into the trailer park on the southern border of Tohohana, and since then, her smile became an almost impossible sight. Just that she was smiling was proof of it. She badly needed to visit Keine.

"Hey, Mokou."

"What is it?"

"How would you like to spend the night here?"

"…" Had that really been offered? Mokou didn't have a change of clothes ready for tomorrow, and she didn't want to impose, but…she really did want to. "…I'd love to stay the night…Aunt Keine."

* * *

**It's that sense of having your childhood back then realizing it's already gone that makes the scene in Keine's house so bittersweet…or at least, that's how it is for me ^_^**

**I got a big teary-eyed doing that scene, mostly because like Mokou, even though I'd never admit it, one of the things I'd like to do most is go back to my carefree childhood. Granted, I had no clue what Touhou was until about two years ago, but if I could go back knowing everything that I now knew, I'd take the chance in a heartbeat, if that.**

**Then again, if I did that, I'd know about Touhou games before they came out, and I'd eventually come back to the present time anyway, so really, I'd be better off having a big-ass flashback :\**

**Readers of my KogaNue fic may recall that the house where Nue and her uncle live is based on the house of a friend of mine. I can't say that's true for Keine's house; I'm just making it up as I go along. Although, there is one thing bugging me, unrelated it may be…**

**I have a map of Tohohana's geographical location (southern part of Chiba prefecture) but I can't make a decent map detailing what it looks like. I'm thinking about having somebody else do that part…**

**Any volunteers?**


	7. Chapter 7: Night of the Fire

**I'm SOOOOOOOOOOOOO SORRY for putting everybody on hold for so long to see this next chapter. I promised that I wouldn't give up on these fics until they were over, and I intend to keep that promise.**

**As for my absence, to say that things have been crazy for me the last couple of weeks would be something of an understatement. Not long ago, my family and I moved out of Florida (yay!) to South Carolina. It was an 18-hour car ride with absolutely no leg room. Then we stayed in South Carolina for about four days, and moved to Dallas, Texas. Another long car ride, but with a tad more wiggle room this time. We stayed in Dallas for about the same amount of time, but now things are looking at least a little more secure. We're living in a little suburb (fuck yeah, a suburb!) called Mesquite now, and I'm planning on getting a job soon.**

**And I swear to ZUN, if we have to move again in less than two months, I'm asking Azure if I can just move in with him and pay some of his rent. Better to know you're in a place you don't really like (meaning big cities) instead of feel insecure about a place you enjoy, I think.**

**I've probably got insecurity issues by now, thanks to my fucking family.**

* * *

It was getting late, and dark. Had Mokou wanted to change her mind, it was becoming too late now. Not that she wanted to change her mind. She was perfectly happy spending the night here for once. Dinner was in the works - Keine's wonderful meatloaf - and in all, things seemed good for Mokou. Too good. It worried her a little bit. If there was one thing she learned by being the daughter of a moderately demented detective, it was five critical words.

"Never assume that all's well."

_RIIIIIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIING!_ "Mokou," Mokou said the instant she answered the phone. "What is it? H-H…wh…what? I-I…I'm coming!" Mokou shut her phone, stuck it in her pocket, and literally an instant before bolting out the door, shouted "I'll be right back, Keine!" _SLAM!_

"That didn't sound good," Keine said. Hopefully, things were okay. She always worried about her students, but Mokou especially. With everything she'd put up with up until now, it was always a personal worry to Keine that Mokou was just one push from completely snapping and doing something she'd probably regret later. What made her worry, though, was that Mokou didn't even bother asking for a ride. It was possible that Mokou didn't want to hold Keine too long and risk her overcooking the meatloaf, but it would have been fine either way. No, for Mokou to not think to ask, something must have been really wrong…

* * *

**Ten minutes later; Fujiwara trailer…**

Mokou's eyes said everything. What they took in, what they brought out, and what they reflected. Her eyes took in the sights of flashing lights. Ambulances and police cars, among other vehicles, were all over the place in front of her trailer. Police were asking questions to the people who were outside to see what all the commotion was about. Mokou's eyes brought out the one thing anybody could expect them to. The first tears she'd shed since before she could remember. What they reflected, though, was most important. Fire. Lots of it, and the distinct red lights of a fire truck. The white ambulance in front of her blazing home, with the stretcher in front of it complete with a smoker who paramedics were trying to bring back into consciousness. This wasn't too uncommon in the shadier neighborhoods, save the fire, but the thing that tore through Mokou was the person on the stretcher. Fujiwara no Akira - her father who was ready to put an end to the Houraisan yakuza's terror - blackened and unconscious, if even alive. The evidence was even in his hands; a black lighter in a little plastic bag. Nobody else would have spotted it, probably, but he did at that crime scene. Likewise, Mokou spotted it at this one. When she tried to get up to the stretcher, the paramedics stopped her.

"Stand back. He's in a very poor condition, and we're doing all we can. We'll have to bring him to a hospital."

"I'm going too," Mokou said, doing her best to not get overcome completely by her tears.

"We can't allow anybody but family to-"

"**I'M HIS DAUGHTER!**" The paramedics just stared for a second. But then, everybody stared at Mokou at her explosive outburst. "**I'M HIS ONLY CHILD! HIS ONLY **_**FAMILY!**_"

"…we had no way of knowing. The two of you don't look all that similar. Get in the back, ma'am."

* * *

**Five minutes later; Kamishirisawa residence…**

_RIIIIIIIIIIING! RIIIIIIING!_ Keine had been sitting next to the house phone for the last five minutes, hoping Mokou would call. She'd answered every call almost instantly, and so far, none of them were Mokou. "Kamishi-" The voice that interrupted her was completely unintelligible. It _sounded_ like Mokou, but it was impossible to really tell. "M-Mo…Mokou? Is that you? Look. Mok-_LISTEN_. Take some deep breaths…okay, now, _slowly_, what happened?" The news Mokou was giving her wasn't good. To make it worse, Mokou was crying. She never cried. That was how Keine knew she was serious. "I'll be right there. Stay put, okay?" Keine set the phone down, and just as she made her way to her room to put on some more appropriate clothes, forced herself into tears. Crying in front of Mokou was the last thing she wanted to do right now. Mokou needed somebody she knew was tough for reassurance, and it would be best if they could maintain themselves throughout a conversation. Keine would have to do her crying on the way to pick up her student.

* * *

"Got it," _Click._ Mokou was currently standing at the front doors of the Tohohana Hospital. She didn't have to visit here any longer. Fujiwara no Akira, as police records would soon note, died on Thursday night as a victim of arson, supposedly committed by Osamu Houraisan to prevent the usage of certain evidence against him. It left Mokou shaking out of control. There was _one_ thing, though. On his body, the doctors had found an envelope in his jacket pocket, addressed to Mokou and to be read by her eyes only. Before she opened it, she pulled out her father's lighter -_ her_ lighter now - and lit up one of the cigarettes in her pocket, barely able to hold it with how badly she was shaking. Only after it was lit and in her mouth did she open the envelope. It was hand-written, certainly in her father's handwriting. Even if they were probably meant to be words of reassurance, they stung far worse than they should have…

* * *

_Mokou_

_ If you're reading this letter, then odds are that I'm no longer with you. I didn't expect to write a final letter for at least ten more years, but I know that Houraisan will find out that I have evidence on him. I actually called Keine last night to make sure she'd take you for a couple days, for your safety. I'd just like to say a few things, including what you are now to do with your life if you're willing to respect my final wishes in the world._

_ First off, I'd like to say that last night's dinner was the best you've ever made. You should open a restaurant rather than being a detective like your old man. Even in the afterlife, I couldn't live with myself if my little girl put herself in that kind of danger. Did you know that when I met your mother, she wanted to open a restaurant herself? Even if she became a doctor in the end, cooking was her favorite thing in the world. I'm sure she'd be happy if you fulfilled her dream, as long as it was yours too. I know I'd be pretty happy._

_ Secondly, I already informed the police department about my probable death. They offered to give me some extra security, but if I did that, I'd basically be telling the yakuza that I was scared of them. Which brings me to the evidence. If you don't have it, show this letter to them, and make sure they read only the part about me telling them to give it to you._

_ Police department, please give my daughter the evidence I had against Osamu Houraisan._

_ Third, I want you to destroy that evidence. Now, I know what you're thinking, but hear me out. I'd much rather put all of Tohohana into the usual crime rating, rather than putting you in danger. Destroy it before you go to school, and when you do, tell that Houraisan kid that you did, or even better, do it in front of the entire Houraisan family. I've also arranged for you to become Keine's foster child until you step out into the world on your own, hopefully by the side of at least one friend other than Keine. Whether that friend is Osamu's kid or not is up to you entirely. It's possible that she's just misunderstood, like you believe yourself to be._

_ I know that this might not seem like any kind of emotional climax to you, but I figured, if you're reading this, you're probably torn enough already. I don't want to rub salt into your wounds by saying all that cheesy "I love you" and "You're the best daughter a father could ask for" shit. You know what I mean, yeah? I do, however, want to leave you with these words._

_ You're gonna be fine now. Now, Mokou, it's okay to assume all's well._

_ Signed, Detective Fujiwara no Akira_

_ P.S._

_ If I'm not dead, never let me touch a cigarette again._

* * *

"Same old dad," Mokou said, near-laughing, but still with some tears in her eyes. Wiping those away, she added "Always has some wise-crack ready to kill the mood."

_BEEP, BEEEEEP!_ "Mokou!"

"Keine!"

* * *

**Five days later; Tohohana Cemetery…**

"…earth to earth, ashes to ashes, dust to dust." Today was a solemn day in Tohohana, for the police department, the friends of the Fujiwara family, and most of all, Mokou. All eyes were on the Shinto priest up at the gravestone. The cemetery was near a shrine that had stood since the town's founding, and it was common that the priests of the Hakurei clan did funeral rites. "Who would like to say some words for the deceased?"

"I'll go first," somebody in the far back said. All eyes turned to the back, toward a girl with long flowing black hair, perfectly combed. Her posture looked like she was doing her absolute best to stand up straight today, but usually was slouching whether she stood or sat. She had a very fair complexion, and was just about the perfect image of beauty, clothed in a long black dress. Next to her was a man who looked to be nearing his golden years, Kaguya Houraisan.

Kaguya stepped up to the grave of her rival's late father, and cleared her throat. As a yakuza boss, her father was great at making up speeches, be it to rally criminals or defend himself in court. It was time to see if Kaguya inherited that trait. "I never knew Akira," she started honestly enough. "In fact, until about two weeks ago, I didn't even know he existed. The only reason I know who this man was is because of his daughter - Fujiwara no Mokou. In the short time between knowing of him and his horrible end, I learned more about him than I could think possible without meeting him. He was a fun person, always ready to share a laugh with his friends, and he stood up for the law and what he believed was right. It's never been a secret in town that the Fujiwara family and my own don't really get along so well, but even then, I would have been proud to say I knew this man if I'd only met him. Thank you."

"Tell me you didn't invite her," Mokou whispered to her teacher and new adoptive mother, who stood right next to her. "I get that you want us to buddy up and all, but this is going way too far."

"I didn't even think about it," Keine whispered back. "I've been so busy making funeral arrangements that Kaguya was the last person on my mind."

"Then who told her it was today?"

"I did," Kaguya whispered to the duo as she walked up to them, and stopped there. "I'm not saying this as your enemy or classmate, but as a fellow human being. I'm really sorry about what happened. If I had any idea this was going to happen, I swear I would've done everything in my power to stop my father. I'd also like to invite you over to dinner at my place tonight."

"No way. I'm not dining at the same table as that man."

"It's far better to confront your enemies than let your hate boil. I'm sure that if you and I knew that when we were kids, we wouldn't be enemies at all, but the best of friends."

"…tonight only," Mokou said.

"I'll send Michael to you at about five. Where are you living right now?"

* * *

**It was a sorta happy but sorta tense chapter at first, then it was really really sad, then it became bittersweet at the end with Kaguya showing up in the funeral. It's a perfect emotional rollercoaster for a chapter, and I think the wait was worth it in the case of this chapter. Also…**

**I'm working on the finishing portions of that database I mention from time to time, and am covering the various organizations in town. Did you know that if you list all the Tohohana police in alphabetical order, the very first one is Akira? The others are Eiki (who is the chief of police in Tohohana, as well as the judge and the jail warden), Ichirin, Iku, Koakuma, Kotohime, but Rinnosuke, Mokou and Ran all volunteer at the police department now and then.**

**One thing that amuses me now that I think about it is that Eiki's in charge of pretty much everything related to the law…yet there are still criminals running about all over town. I guess Komachi's not the only one slacking off~**


	8. Chapter 8: Akira's Last Hand

**The chapter's title is also what gets played here. Fitting for Akira, I think his Touhou theme would be Extend Ash ~ Hourai Victim. Playing that theme at about the time Keine appears in this chapter (EX form!? XD) is a pretty good idea.**

**Above all else, this chapter is my extended apologies for putting everybody on hold so long. I want to get images for all the OC characters in Tohohana thus far, but only have images for Akira and Osamu. I still need Fujiwara no Aki - Mokou's mother, and Hikaru Houjuu - Nue's uncle.**

**Aki should be easy enough, but Hikaru…I dunno :\**

**Although, you know that story? The one about Kaguya being in a yakuza family and Mokou being a detective's daughter? Maybe I should just focus on that instead.**

* * *

Mokou still didn't want to be here. Now, more than ever, the Houraisan mansion was the last place she wanted to be. Even so, she had two reasons to come here. First and foremost, Kaguya was - even if Mokou hated admitting it - entirely right; it's far better to confront one's enemies than to let the hate boil deep down. Secondly, there was something she had to do here. Her left hand kept twitching, revealing inside a black lighter in a little plastic bag. Only because it was her father's dying wish, Mokou was going to destroy the evidence, right in front of the head of the yakuza.

"We have arrived," Michael the faithful butler said, swinging open the front door. "Please make yourself comfortable, Miss Fujiwara."

"Just call me Mokou," she insisted once more. "I may as well be part of the Kamishirisawa family now rather than my own, thanks to your boss." As Mokou stepped in, the very first person she saw was not Kaguya, but her father. Beard well-trimmed, suit as fine as ever, and hand out as though he were expecting something. "I've got your lighter," Mokou said.

"I figured as much. Akira was a wise man, even if it didn't show sometimes, but he loved his child more than anything in the world. Knowing him, he'd probably want you to give me the evidence to save yourself."

"He wants me to _destroy_ it," Mokou corrected, dropping the lighter and crushing it under her foot. Just knowing that the lighter was Osamu's made her feel a bit better. She got to destroy something that belonged to her new sworn enemy. "Let's get one thing straight here. Kaguya invited me here as an apology, and even said that she would have done everything in her power to stop you from starting that fire if she knew you would. As you can very well imagine, I don't like you. Not a bit."

"That's to be expected. I also suspect you'd like to kill me." Taking off the jacket of his suit, Osamu continued "I cannot allow you to kill me, of course, but at the very least, I can allow you to hit me. One shot, as hard as you can, wherever you please." Handing the jacket to his butler, Osamu spread out his arms and prepared himself. Even as a yakuza boss, Osamu had some morals (even if they're not all that great) and had a personal bone against tearing families apart unless it were absolutely necessary. "And two extra shots for your mother." Looking back at that incident, Osamu should have personally made that move. Maybe if he did, things wouldn't be this way now. Maybe Mokou wouldn't have grown up without a mother, and maybe - just maybe, if things went a near-impossible route - the two families may have gotten along. It was a bad trait for a yakuza leader sometimes, but just like Akira, Osamu was an idealist. "What are you waiting for?"

"…this one's for my father," Mokou started, stepping as close as she could to Mr. Houraisan, getting her trusty right foot ready to kick at maximum force. Once she was at the right range, she swung her leg up as hard as possible, and full-power kicked Kaguya's father right between his legs. He made a squeaking noise for a short moment, and fell to his knees, but he remained standing. "And these are for my mother." A two-kick combination Mokou had perfected over the years; often the one she ended fights with. First, her left leg swung around, and kicked Mr. Houraisan in the neck, sending him off to the right. Then, at the exact right moment, her right leg kicked up again, and nailed her target square in the jaw. Generally, this was her fearsome jaw-breaking technique, but the old man's bones did not break. Instead, he landed on his back in the floor of his home, breathing deeply.

"I trust you're feeling a little better," he said, not yet getting back up.

"I don't feel worse, if that's what you mean. Now then, you've got some explaining to do since I was so kind to destroy your evidence."

"Of course," Mr. Houraisan said, getting up to his feet and putting the jacket of his suit back on. He was very in-shape, especially for a man of his age, and the suit was able to hide that wonderfully. "We'll talk in my office."

* * *

**Not much later; Osamu Houraisan's office…**

"Okay," Mokou said, shutting the door behind her and sitting herself across a desk from the man himself. "Talk."

"Before anything, I'd like to personally extend my dearest and sincerest apologies for your parents. As a general rule, I do my best to not kill people with close ties to their families, as the damage spreads much further than just a man's death when I do. The incident with your mother was a complete accident, and I wasn't really the one who made the move. The one responsible for that was heavily punished for his failure not long after the incident, if that rests your anger from that incident any. As for your father…Akira and I have been playing at this game of cat-and-mouse for a very long time, and though we've never met personally, it's safe to say we both knew plenty about one another." Turning to a small cooler in the corner, Osamu reached in and held out a canned soda. "Care for a drink?"

"I'm okay."

"Very well." Putting the drink back in, Osamu continued "I'd imagine that Akira would know that my men would come for him. After all, he was the first man in all these years to get solid evidence on me. I also imagine that the police force would offer him extra security. Since I saw nobody at the trailer that night, I can only imagine that he declined, and _accepted_ his death. In a sense, it was his wish to die in that fire." Osamu had trouble imagining why. What could Akira possibly gain by dying in that fire, short of being reunited with his wife? Even then, it came at the cost of being separated from his daughter, who was most certainly heartbroken at this loss. So what could Akira possibly gain? "I still don't get it, but perhaps he was trying to send you some sort of message."

* * *

**Kamishirisawa residence…**

_KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK!_

That couldn't have possibly been Mokou. She'd only left a few minutes ago, and it wasn't like she had anything that she could possibly forget here that was really important for a trip to another person's home for dinner only. Opening the door, Keine was taken aback a little at the sight she saw. Akira's partner in the police department - Ichirin Kumoi - stood right before the teacher. Keine knew Ichirin - at least a little thanks to Akira - and she should have been at work right now. Just what was up?

"I've got something for you," Ichirin answered, already knowing the question. Being the partner of Fujiwara no Akira had some benefits. Fishing into a bag slung over her shoulder, the officer procured a video cassette labeled only as WATCH ME: EVIDENCE. "I've looked it over already. He was really something, wasn't he?" Not wanting to share any unnecessary words with the teacher, Ichirin made her way back to her vehicle, and drove off.

Now Keine was confused. Mokou had shared the letter with Keine plenty of times between his death and his funeral, and the lighter was supposed to be the only evidence against Osamu Houraisan. Did Akira have other plans as well? More importantly, why was it a VHS? Keine had a VCR, but it wasn't like she used it often. It was just a leftover item from older times was all. Even so, Akira did everything for a reason. Putting the cassette in, Keine sat herself down and prepared herself for whatever else Akira had ready…

* * *

"Yeah, so…I found this at the crime scene," Akira said, holding up the black lighter Mokou was given at the scene of the crime. "DNA samples point right to Osamu, but if I have evidence against him, I'm _probably_ gonna die. So I'm leaving this cassette behind as my ace-in-the-hole move; a dead man's testimony against the yakuza boss. While Mokou's been in school today, I've gone out and bought a security camera, and gotten somebody in the department help me hook it up to my VCR from when Mokou was still a kid. My plan is that when the yakuza shows up, I'm going to take the VHS - this one - so that I can hide it in my coat where they won't look."

Then the scene changed, just a little. Just moments ago, Akira wasn't eating anything, but this time he had a hamburger in hand, and a bag of more fast food next to him. He'd probably gone out to grab some food, then recorded this part. "So, for the people in the morgue or wherever that found this, I want you guys to give this to Ichirin Kumoi - my partner in the force. Then, Ichirin, remember that phone I gave you about a month ago that doesn't work? Dial Mokou's number - there's a tracker in her phone, and calling it will tell you exactly where to find her. Effective…let's say about a week from now, if you see that she's at least a mile away from Keine's house where she'll be living after I die, bring this tape to Keine. I also need you to show this to Captain Kotohime and Chief Shiki, so that they understand my plan."

Then the scene changed one last time. Now there was no food again. "Keine, once the tape ends, I want you to call Ichirin on her cell phone; her number is *omitted by the laziness of the author* and you _must call her cell_. Tell her that we're good to go. Then the police are going to show up at Osamu's place and arrest him. In the event that Mokou is at the Houraisan home, _do not_ pick her up. I've already got all the bases covered here, okay? I'm really sorry you've gotta see this after I died, by the way. I just hope I'm not hurting you too much."

Then the tape flickered for a second, and the next thing she knew, it was nighttime on the tape, filming outside the front of the Fujiwara trailer with a nighttime camera. A few seconds ticked by, and eventually, a man started walking up to the trailer. He was tall and well-built, and had a neatly-trimmed beard and a very fine suit. He looked way too wealthy to be in this part of town. This was Osamu Houraisan; the boss of the yakuza. He dropped a lighter at the foot of the trailer, and flames started building up. Once the lighter was down, he ran off. As the flames got higher and higher, they eventually engulfed the entire screen. Then the tape went to static.

* * *

"This…is unbelievable." Keine knew that Akira was a smart cookie, but even she wouldn't have seen this coming. Grabbing her cell phone and dialing the number Akira gave her, Keine eagerly awaited an answer.

"Kumoi," Ichirin said, answering. "What is it?"

"We're good to go," Keine said.

"Alright. Thanks a lot." With that, the line was cut off. It was time to put Akira's last hand into play. Reaching for the radio in his car, Ichirin said "This is Officer Kumoi. All available units move in to *address also omitted by laziness* for the arrest of Osamu Houraisan."

* * *

**Back at the Houraisan mansion…**

"The food's pretty good," Mokou said. She and Osamu had a pretty long talk about her parents, and it ended with Osamu promising to help Mokou in any way possible as his way of an apology for having done the things he did. Mokou simply told him to keep the yakuza out of Mokou's life and Keine's, and that after being a good girl for the meal, she'd go home and never speak with any Houraisan short of Kaguya, and even her only until the two graduated from school. "I wouldn't mind getting this recipe."

"That can be arranged," Osamu replied. "I'll make sure the chef responsible brings it to Michael, and he can give it to you on your ride home."

_SLAM!_ "Tohohana Police," Ichirin shouted, pointing a gun straight at the big yakuza boss himself. "Osamu Houraisan, you're under arrest for arson and the murder of Detective Fujiwara no Akira!" Continuing closer to the man, Ichirin continued "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be provided for you."

* * *

**Akira is better than L**

**It's that simple. Although, some of Akira's character was inspired by L, so I can't really say in good spirit that my OC was better than L. I've already got a nice good end in the works (in terms of where Kaguya and Mokou end up) as well as a rather silly near-end for when the two have to present their project together. And Keine gets to say the best line in the fanfic at that time:  
"I figured you would notice that if anybody, Mokou."**

**I'll let you try and figure out what Mokou should have known~**


	9. Chapter 9: Fin

**Playing in my headphones as I key in this author's note is Oriental Sky of Scarlet Perception. I think at least some readers know exactly what that means.**

**It means play it yourself when you read this chapter, or at least, everything past the first couple scenes.**

**Ah, but alas, this story has now reached its conclusion. It ended rather abruptly, yes, but my gut was telling me to end it liek nao, so I decided that this would be the final chapter. That, and I simply can't juice out enough filler to make the first two scenes and the rest of this chapter separate chapters.**

**Even so, this one's pretty short for me as well. As I say at the end of the chapter, that's just life in Tohohana.**

* * *

"…Akira was behind this, wasn't he?" Unbelievable. Osamu had been running the yakuza since before that man was even born. Despite a massive age difference, it appeared that Akira was going to have the last laugh. "Were he alive, I'd like to congratulate him. But, like any good yakuza boss, I have one last card to play…" The table the current diners sat at was a square. A surprisingly small one for such a rich family. Enough so that even Kaguya, who sat across the table, was easily within reach of Osamu's arms. To say that he could reach Mokou, who sat to his right, was an obvious statement.

That was probably what a police officer would expect as a last card. Take the detective's daughter hostage, and threaten to kill her if anybody tried anything funny. However, Osamu specialized in doing things police _didn't_ expect; it was one of the leading reasons that he wasn't in prison yet. Instead, Osamu's last card was to raise his hands, and put them behind his head as he waited for the officer to get close enough. He could hear the footsteps, getting closer and closer. Surely, he'd be able to-

_BANG!_

"**DAMMIT!**" That was the last thing the yakuza boss saw coming. Instead of getting close enough for Osamu's secret escape technique, the cop shot him in the back of the knee! The man fell right out of his chair and onto the floor, trying not to squirm or writhe any so as to not look weak. As much as Osamu hated to even think it, only two words seemed appropriate in his mind. _It's over…_

"I swear," Mokou whispered to the girl sitting next to her, who had just earlier today attended the funeral of a dead detective. "I have no idea what's going on here." Mokou didn't get a response. All she got was a sight she'd probably not soon forget. Kaguya Houraisan, trembling something fierce in her chair, looking about ready to explode into tears.

"Which one of you is Akira's daughter?" Ichirin didn't really have to ask. She used to see Mokou all the time, but only when she was too young to remember any longer. Odds were that Mokou had no idea who Ichirin was anymore. "I think a few things have to be explained about this whole situation."

"I'm his kid," Mokou said, standing up. "But I want Kaguya to hear this too. She's Osamu's daughter, so she's got just as much a right to know what's going on as me."

* * *

**One lengthy explanation later; Tohohana Police Department…**

"That was quite a move," both the Fujiwara and Houraisan girls said at once.

"Kaguya, I have to tell you something…"

"Don't care."

"Too bad. When your father burnt down my home, the doctors found a note in my father's coat pocket. It said that I was going to be Miss K's foster kid until I was ready to face the world on my own, hopefully alongside a friend other than my teacher. He also said that the friend could have been you."

"H-He…he said that?"

"I don't get it either. He also said it was okay to assume that all's well. At first, I didn't get it. He was dead, and I was wracked with grief. But now, later on, I see what he meant. Tohohana has some really dangerous people living here, not the least of which is your old man, but if I just keep on going and do what I think I should do, then things should be able to sort themselves out pretty well. I'm really sorry about your dad going to jail, but at least he's alive, right?"

"I guess…"

"You drew up the conclusion yourself, that we only hate each other because of our fathers. Now, with mine dead and yours in jail - probably for life - they can't really influence us all that much anymore." Like Mokou had said, she understood what Akira meant by _It's okay to assume all's well._ If she just did what she thought was right, everything should work itself out, just like Keine said it did for her mother. "I think the best thing I can do right now is help you get over what's happened today, and turn my lifelong enemy into my friend. Plus, it'll make our project that much easier if we like each other."

"…"

"I'll take your silence as an answer I like."

"Fine."

* * *

**Some weeks later; Tohohana High School, Class 12-A…**

"…and that's our presentation!"

"Wonderful job," Keine applauded excitedly. "Absolutely wonderful, you two! Kaguya, Mokou, you both get a 100% score for the project! Congratulations!"

"We did it!"

"I can't believe it," Kaguya happily said. "Way to go, Mokou!" Lost in her excitement for a second, Kaguya ran right up to her partner, and wrapped her arms tightly around Mokou. "…"

"…"

"Sorry."

"By the way," Keine said. "I have a confession to make."

"Oh?"

"Even if I wanted to, I couldn't treat your project grade different from everybody else's. Even if you both failed the project, at least Mokou would graduate. The whole story was a way of motivating Kaguya to work."

"…"

"Don't hold it against me, you two. At least it worked~"

"I can't believe you actually did that," Mokou said.

"It's against the law for me to do something like that. Being Akira's kid, I figured you'd notice that if anybody, Mokou."

"I guess I was too distracted worrying about failing the year."

"Well, you're going to graduate. So, now that you know that, what exactly do you want to do with your life? Both of you."

"Hmm…"

* * *

**Fifteen years later…**

Today was it. The culmination of everything Mokou had worked at for the last fifteen years, with funding from Kaguya's family once they figured out alternative ways of maintaining and even increasing their fortune. Before her last day of high school, if somebody had said that this would be the happiest day of Mokou's life, she'd say that it wouldn't be number one, but a good second. Now, however, she was certain. Today was the best day of her life. In front of her was a bright red ribbon that stretched out across her and around the building behind her. That building was red, and about the size of a large diner. In Mokou's hands were a pair of large shears, and standing right next to her was the same NEET that made all this possible with her funding. "Fujiwara's Diner is now officially…open!" _SNIP!_ Today was the day that Mokou opened her own five-star diner. After all, her cooking abilities were becoming all the more useful as Mokou got older.

For fifteen years, Mokou and Kaguya have always had each other's backs. One was the rugged child of the city's finest detective, and the other was the lavished princess of a former yakuza leader. Whatever one couldn't handle, the other could, and together nothing was impossible. Not even the unthinkable. The sun's rays caught it perfectly for a second, that around the finger next to the pinky, on the right hands of both Kaguya _and_ Mokou, were gold rings, with one diamond each. Fifteen years was a very long time, after all. Mokou refused to give up her family name; she was the only Fujiwara left. Otherwise, the restaurant would have been called Houraisan's.

After the crowd went in, Mokou followed, next to the girl who had inadvertently set all these things into motion by slacking so much in school. "You know something, Kaguya?"

"What's up?"

"What's your take on adoption?"

"…why?"

"Well, we're both girls. Unless medical science has some new breakthrough…"

"I have a doctor friend. I'll ask her later."

"Okay." That would be nice. Mokou had little doubt that such a breakthrough existed by now; technology had an astounding way of getting faster and faster. In the event that the two were able to create a child from that breakthrough, there were infinite possibilities for what kinds of things would be in the world by the time he or she was fully grown. Maybe it could, and maybe it couldn't.

That was just life in Tohohana. A tale of enemies turned friends is no different.

* * *

**As my thanks for sticking with the story this far, I'm going to give you a couple of bonus prizes. The entries for Fujiwara no Mokou and Kaguya Houraisan in my Tohohana database, which is getting closer and closer to completion! Mokou's first, here they are. I promise that you'll learn at least one new thing about each character ^v^**

**The daughter and only child of Tohohana's greatest detective, Mokou is always happy to lend out a helping hand to somebody she knows and trusts. She has a particularly defined sense of justice, as well as a fondness for fire, but is horribly hydrophobic, to the point that she'll don rainwear from head to toe during any rain, no matter how light or heavy. Her dream is to become a detective just like her father, but Mokou may be better off opening up a luxury restaurant in a big city like Tokyo or Osaka with her mind-boggling cooking abilities. She also aspires to be a manga artist because of her love of shonen anime, born from watching shows like Fist of the North Star and Deathnote with her father from a young age and continuing to the present day. Despite living in a trashy trailer park - one of the few particularly bad neighborhoods in town - Mokou has some of the highest grades in school, and attends Class 12-A at Tohohana High. Like a large handful of students in Tohohana High, Mokou is a member of the TCG club, but since she and Kaguya attend the same events for this club, chaos often breaks out…and no, not "Chaos Emperor Dragon" either. Of course, she wasn't always a girl of justice. Indeed, her younger years were marked by plenty of delinquent behavior alongside three other troublemakers. Nue Houjuu, Marisa Kirisame, and Yuugi Hoshiguma - formerly Mokou's three best friends in the world - have since become the kind of people Mokou would put behind bars if she had to.**

**Kaguya is the daughter and only child of Osamu Houraisan, the boss of Tohohana's local yakuza. Because of this, Kaguya was brought up on underworld dollars and values, and it has affected her now that she's a young adult. Often using her own wealth to get other people to do things for her, Kaguya is most at home when in her bedroom in front of her computer screen, with all other electronics in the room turned off. Kaguya is also known to bribe her way out of unfavorable situations, not the least of which is her frequent attempts to tip off her teacher to avoid doing schoolwork. Not that it ever works! There is also a mysterious and bitter rivalry between Kaguya and Fujiwara no Mokou, though nobody is certain where it roots from. This grudge has worked its way all the way into their senior year in high school, in which they've both been placed in Class 12-A. Luckily, Kaguya can forget about Mokou by being captain of the gaming club and a respected member of the anime club and TCG club.**

**Thanks again for sticking with me this far! Whatever the next story is, I hope to see you there!**


End file.
